Dreams to Nightmares
by Her Madjesty
Summary: An exploration of an illness, left inside of the head of the only man left of his kind. Verges on M, warnings inside.


_A/N Hi. Firstly, I'd like to say that the characters are not mine. Secondly, I'd like to say that this story details a bit of depression, a bit of schitzophrenia, and an attempted suicide. If any of those things bother you, please, do not read this. This is a rework of something I did a long time ago, and I wanted to explore some things that kept coming to mind. For those of you who stay, I hope you take something away from the piece. For those of you who don't, remember to smile, and I've got fluffier fics elsewhere. Chin up, don't be sad, and remember to smile._

XXX

There was a history of terrible things, written in the words of his people. Though he hadn't been old enough to understand them, at the time, Megamind had read of them, as they had been inscribed upon the interior of the space pod that he had been borne away in.

These writings had spoken of illnesses that set in as his species aged. They spoke of terrible illusions and horrid nightmares, preying upon a mind too active to rest in peace.

It wasn't until he had spent decades on the little blue planet called Earth that he came to understand, truly, what those illnesses could do.

XXX

Soft growls rose from the figure sleeping on the bed in the lair. Unaware of the world, and incased in his own, Megamind wrestled with the sheets, harsh whispers escaping his sleeping lips.

Minion stood silently in the corner, peering out of his castle in fear.

Weeks spent alone, after revealing himself to Roxanne, and thus, the world, had left the alien writhing in the silence of his own mind. Those weeks had presented him with nightmares that made him scream.

Those screams echoed through the lair, and Minion was helpless to stop them.

There was a madness, sinking deep into his mind. His body ached, his temples roared, and his skin flushed red under the pressure of a mind that was lost within itself.

He hadn't spoken in days.

Only in the middle of the night, with only Minion to hear, did he speak.

Most often, it was in shouts, desperate and fearful, commanding invisible companions to run.

XXX

The dream was always the same.

It began pleasantly enough. He and his companions were at dinner, the movies, watching the sunset in the park. No one stared at him like he was a monster. Roxanne, when she was with him, smiled so beautifully, and Minion cheered and teased as they went off together, before he disappeared into the dust of the dream.

Megamind would spend minutes dawdling, awkwardly trying to grasp the Earth-woman's hand. She would smile at him as though he was the most wonderful person on earth, and laugh before squeezing her fingers against his own. They would walk and talk about meaningless things, about important things, about anything they wanted.

In the middle of their conversation, he would interrupt her with a kiss, gentle and sweet, and she would return it.

Nothing could be happier than this.

It was then, of course, that the synapses of his mind would splurge and fire and send him into the hell that awaited. For what kind of villain could have a good dream?

Roxanne would disappear almost immediately, slipping out of his hands and up to a tower. The thing would be bending and thrashing in a storm of orange and red, and Megamind would stare, helplessly, from the ground. As hard as he tried, he couldn't force himself to move.

Another torturous detail from the recesses of his mind.

Titian would appear, orange and red and furious. The man would laugh, teasing Megamind, who furiously looked for a way to save the woman.

The would-be hero—the monster that Megamind had created— would always come for him first. Punch after punch kissed blue skin, until Megamind could taste iron in his mouth and noticed that he was bleeding. Fighting back was useless, as Titian's laser vision burnt the skin on his arms and separated his limbs from his body.

Megamind would fall, broken and useless, and then Titian would go after Roxanne.

Profanities filled the air, as Titian cursed her name and railed on about how she had betrayed him. He would slap her with all the force in his body, and Megamind screamed as he heard cracks, and saw her bindings slice into her skin.

The entire time, he couldn't move, couldn't do anything to save her. There was nothing he could do to stop Titian from hurting her.

Roxanne would scream, desperate and terrible and broken, and—

It was then that he always woke up, screaming himself.

XXX

Time continued to pass, but the nightmares did not. The city was on the course to recovery, but no one had seen the villain who had taken over.

No one would see him again.

The nightmares held him in check, some sinister force that he could not defeat. Conventional fighting, forced silences—it was all useless.

Megamind was alone in this world. Alone with no one but Minion, and the voices in his mind.

Minion was shut down nearly a month into Megamind's forced seclusion, so he would not see his master fall deeper into the madness that consumed him.

The voices in his head were insistent, and slowly, they drove him deeper. He found himself scouring the internal caverns of his mind, digging deep into things he never wanted to address. There were so many things in there, things that he simply did not want to understand.

Voices told him where the ropes were kept. Voices told him that no one cared, and that no one ever would.

Voices drove him to do things that he swore, long ago, that he would never do.

XXX

There was more screaming when Minion woke, but it was not that of his master. Instead, Roxanne, in a dress of red, was resting on her knees in front of the monitors in the lair, weeping.

Megamind was lying at her feet, rope neatly tied around his neck.

XXX

Roxanne stayed with them, as the months continued to tick on. Megamind, saved in the last moments before his death, lurked on the edges with guilt written into his face.

Some invisible fate had made sure that his neck had not snapped, and yet—

Minion watched him carefully, fear not far from his eyes.

Whispers, late in the night between Minion and Roxanne, determined what had happened. According to Minion, the members of Megamind's race had often succumb to the noise that lived inside their heads, driving them to do dangerous things and commit desperate acts.

Megamind was the last of his race, and was the last body for the Voices to inhabit. They were desperate to be heard, and just as desperate to be in control.

The loneliness, inflicted by acts of Megamind's own doing, had nearly allowed the Voices to drive him mad.

For now, though, he lived, and it was Minion's job to watch over him.

One night, Roxanne placed a hand on the big creature's own, and promised that it would be her job, as well.

On that night, with Minion at the door, Roxanne came to find Megamind in his bed, and curled up gently next to him, arms wrapping sweetly around his stomach.

On that night, the voices started to soften. Lying in bed, Megamind could still hear their whispers, but he could close his eyes and feel something akin to peace.

He could sleep, and know that the people he loved were safe. The world could go on, and he would know that he was loved in return.

That was the night that the nightmares began to stop.


End file.
